There are many situations when it is necessary to temporarily move a patient from a bed in which he/she is in regular cervical traction (a traction cable being utilized) to another station, such as an operating room or an area for applying diagnostic or therapeutic radiation (e.g. X-rays) to the patient. When the patient is being transported it is highly desirable to maintain the patient in cervical traction, and according to the present invention it is possible to do this in a simple and readily utilizable manner. The device according to the invention is utilizable with most conventional traction-facilitating devices, such as a cervical strap, tongs, or halo.
The device according to the invention includes shoulder supports which engage the patient's shoulders, and which are preferably attached to a radiolucent backplate. Chest straps are also attached to the backplate and cross over the patient's chest to hold the shoulder supports and backplate in contact with the patient's body.
Attached to the backplate is a lower cross bar, and two sets of telescoping components extend upwardly from the lower cross bar and are joined at the top by an upper cross bar. Each set of telescoping components consists of a tube and a rod with a compression spring disposed in the tube and engaged by the rod. Scale markings are preferably applied to the rod to gauge the amount of force applied by the springs within the tubes.
Attached to the upper cross bar are a pair of slide rods which extend generally perpendicular to the plane defined by the upper and lower cross bars and the telescoping components, and so that they generally overhang the shoulder supports. The slide rods have free ends distal from the upper cross bar.
A slide bar slides along the slide rods and has a traction cable grasping structure associated therewith. The traction cable grasping structure preferably comprises a cam cleat which can quickly and easily engage the cable and hold it in the desired relative position. A deck cleat is preferably mounted to the opposite side of the slide bar from the cam cleat so that after the traction cable is released the cable may be wrapped around the deck cleat.
The portable traction device according to the invention may be easily and quickly applied to the patient. The patient when in bed at the regular traction station is log-rolled onto his/her side, and the backplate of the portable traction device is applied in appropriate position on the patient's back and shoulder. The patient is then log-rolled onto the portable traction device, and the shoulder supports are moved into proper position on the patient's shoulders, and the backplate and the shoulder supports are strapped in place on the patient's body. In this position, the traction cable extends between the free distal ends of the slide rods. The slide bar is then slid on the slide rods until the cam cleat comes in contact with the traction cable. Then the necessary traction force is applied by pushing down on the upper cross bar to compress the springs in the tubes, until the desired force is achieved as determined by reading the scale markings on the telescoping components. The cam cleat holds the cable in position maintaining this traction force, and the traction cable can then be detached from its connection at the traction station. The cable is then wrapped about the deck cleat, and thus cervical traction is positively maintained on the patient while he/she can then be readily transported to another station.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a simple yet effective device and method for temporarily maintaining cervical traction on a patient while the patient is transported from a permanent traction station to another station. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims.